A Very Merry Saiyuki Christmas
by Avalonian Skies
Summary: Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai made many friends on their journey West, but they have not become as close to any as they had with Ruolan and Kali. After all, they spent a good chunk of their journey in the two women's company! However, they had gone missing in action for weeks. What happens when the girls finally see them again?


A year had passed since Sanzo had put an end to the Gyuumaoh Revival Project with the help of two very mysterious ladies and four of his usual companions. They had all attempted to return to their normal lives afterward, though it had proven quite impossible. Sanzo and Goku had gone back to the Buddhist temple, much to Goku's chagrin. The blonde monk was positive that it had probably fallen into disrepair since he had left and was eager to resume his slow paced, less active life style. Goku, on the other hand, was dearly going to miss spending so much time with his role model and all the action-filled days. Being imprisoned behind the temple walls with a bunch of mean spirited monks that couldn't stand the very sight of him was a very poor substitute for the freedom that he had previously enjoyed.

As for Hakkai and Gojyo, they had returned to the house that they had shared. Hakkai, with much relief, was once again the homemaker while Gojyo was the lazy and very messy roommate. Like Goku, Gojyo was going to miss the active life style they had led in what seemed like years. Something could be said for fighting off demons and humans alike on an almost daily basis. If nothing else, it helped to keep them in shape.

What they would all miss, though Sanzo was loath to admit to such a thing, was the constant and loyal company of Kali and Ruolan. The girls had proven to be a joy to have around, and even though they lived in the same somewhat large town that Gojyo and Hakkai lived in near the temple, it just was not the same. With their strange telekinetic and telepathic abilities, they had proven that just when you thought you had the world figured out there was always something that could surprise you. They had always been ready to offer a helping hand around the room in an inn or in the campsite or to intercede between Gojyo and Goku and calm their quarreling. Oddly enough, they were easily able to succeed where Sanzo had not.

Now that Ruolan and Kali were in their own home (Gojyo's and Hakkai's didn't have enough room for two, and the fairer sex wasn't allowed in the temple with Goku and Sanzo), they were holding down their own jobs. It was almost Christmas. Anybody could tell that just by looking out the window and seeing all the multicolored lights decorating the rooftops and windows and the blow-up yard decorations of snowmen and reindeer.

It was when Kali had come back home from her night job as a waitress and entertainer at a restaurant and bar that the four men also frequented in town that an idea hit Ruolan. It had been a while since they had seen either hide or hair of one of the boys, and both women were itching for their company. So why not have a Christmas party, have dinner together, and just spend time with everyone again like the old days?

"Hello, Kali," Ruolan greeted as the raven-haired woman walked through the door, shrugged out of her heavy winter jacket, and hung it up on the peg by the door. "How was work?"

Kali shrugged and moved to the couch to sit beside the slightly younger woman, abandoning her shoes beneath the coffee table and rubbing her aching feet. Though she had had the same position at a bar and restaurant a year back, it had been months between the last job and the current one. Unfortunately, in that time she found that she had gotten a little out of practice. Her feet and calves felt the brunt of it. "It was okay," she said. "I still haven't seen any of them." She didn't need to elaborate on who "them" was.

Dejected, Ruolan's face fell. It seemed as if they had been avoiding the women lately. She had no idea why they would. Even Goku hadn't made his usual weekly visits to the apartment that Kali and Ruolan shared. It was a rather depressing thought.

A comfortable silence fell between them, cultivated from having traveled for so long together and becoming comfortable with eachother's company. Finally, Ruolan broke the silence to say, "What if they're waiting for us to make the first move? Why don't we throw a Christmas party and invite them over for it?"

Kali grew thoughtful, considering the idea. She had a point. Maybe they were waiting for them to make the first move. Things had gotten decidedly awkward whenever one of them came over to visit, especially around Gojyo. What if he had been having a difficult time adjusting to their moving out? "It's worth a try," she conceded.

Before long, dinner was done and plans for the Christmas party were soon under way. Between decorating for the party, planning games and meals (the latter was especially difficult to plan, considering the bottomless pit of a stomach that Goku had), and work, the day of the party drew ever closer. Invitations had been sent out; the apartment had been beautifully decorated with twinkling lights, snowflakes, mistletoe, and garland; and now the only thing left for them to do was wait.

Then, finally, the _knock, knock, knock_ they eagerly anticipated sounded. Kali nervously smoothed the wrinkles out of her outfit and left Ruolan to finish setting the table that was already laden with food to answer the door. She first glanced out of the peephole to double check that it was their guests. They're here. Kali turned the lock and pulled the door open, a small smile of welcome plastered to her face, hiding the resentment that she was surprised to feel at their reappearance. They would stay away for three weeks, with neither a glance nor a word, and all of a sudden just show up as if nothing had happened? Who did they think they were?!

Kali stepped back to allow the four slender men into the room. Goku, of course, was the first to enter, his nose leading the way. "Mm, something smells delicious!"

In spite of herself, Kali couldn't help but to smile at the innocent exuberance of the boy in the face of food. He, at least, seemed not to have changed. The monkey's disappearance was probably the fault of the other three, as he didn't seem to be the type to drop off the face of the face of the earth without telling Ruolan where he was going. "Dinner's in the kitchen with Ruolan."

"Great!" came the enthusiastic reply as Goku rushed off in the direction of the kitchen, presumably to give Ruolan company and a little help in finishing setting up the table (and to steal a bite or three during the process).

Then followed Hakkai, Sanzo, and Gojyo; none of them seemed very comfortable to be there, as if they could sense the storm roiling inside Kali in her feelings of betrayal. On the other hand, maybe they just didn't like being pinned with a heated glare upon first entering. Hakkai was the one that was brave enough to face the storm. "It's nice to see you again, Kali," he began, the customary smile that she had seen almost constantly on his face in place. "I hope you've been well."

"Well enough," Kali replied, attempting to keep the accusation out of her voice. She didn't think she succeeded very well, not if the visible wince that Gojyo gave was any indication. Good. He knew that he was in trouble. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing that!

Hakkai gave her an understanding and sympathetic look, a look that she resented. She didn't need him to feel sorry for her! It wasn't like she and Gojyo had anything going on between them. Sanzo, on the other hand, seemed merely indifferent. He had probably been dragged along by Goku, and would have preferred to be anywhere else. Both the redhead and the blonde lit a cigarette, knowing from visits in the past that they were allowed to smoke inside the girls' home.

"And how are you?" Kali asked, looking at Hakkai and Sanzo and taking her resentment out on Gojyo. He was a very easy scapegoat for her bruised feelings.

"Fine." The monosyllable word was from Sanzo. "Do you have an ashtray around here?"

Kali indicated the one that was kept on the coffee table for visits such as the one they were having with the males. She would rather have them use that than deceive her with a can of beer or soda. She had learned her lesson the hard way with that.

When Hakkai and Sanzo both moved away, Kali was left with Gojyo. The very last person in the world that she found she wanted to be with. She made to follow them but was stopped abruptly by the water sprite's voice. "Kali, wait."

She turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised in sarcastic question, waiting for him to continue. For a moment, he seemed to be at a loss for words, unsure of what to say. Then he opened his mouth to speak, but a female voice chimed from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready! You'd better come get it before Goku finishes everything!"

Satisfied that she would be able to leave Gojyo hanging (after all, she was a little more difficult to get than what he seemed to think), Kali left him standing in the doorway to help the girl that was more like a little sister to her serve dinner.

The rest of the evening went off well enough. The dinner Kali and Ruolan had prepared was delicious, and the games they had planned for entertainment were amusing (even if some were a little corny, courtesy of Ruolan). Hakkai and Goku, at least, seemed to have been having fun. Even Sanzo had abandoned his usual scowl and seemed a little more relaxed and amused than usual, though it was sometimes hard to tell. The only one who seemed to be uncomfortable and unhappy was Gojyo. He would watch Kali with smoldering, intense crimson eyes, obviously pondering how best to get her alone.

At some point near the end of the night, just before the four were readying to leave, Gojyo blocked Kali's way into the narrow hallway that lead to the kitchen. "Come take a walk with me," he offered.

Kali scowled. "I have to help Ruolan clean up." They had all left a rather large mess behind, and being that she helped create it, it seemed only right to help clean it. It was also the perfect excuse to avoid being alone with the redhead any longer than she needed to be.

"It won't take long," Gojyo insisted.

Able to hear the exchange going on down the hall, Ruolan poked her head out of the kitchen. She felt some resentment toward the four men as well and had confronted Goku about it earlier in the evening. She would have told Kali, but there had not been much time during the evening. Besides, she knew this was something that she needed to work out with Gojyo for herself. "It's fine. Go ahead and go take your walk. I'll leave something for you to clean if you're that set on helping me."

Kali glared down the hallway at Ruolan. The whole point was to avoid Gojyo, not be alone with him. Being alone with him when they were getting along was difficult enough without adding anger to the mix. "Fine," she said sullenly and stalked to the door to pull her heavy coat from the peg. Gojyo was quick to follow her and hold it open for her to slide her arms in the sleeves easily before donning his own garment.

Once they were outside in the cool winter air, both Kali and Gojyo jammed their hands into their coat pockets, Kali with anger, Gojyo with thoughtful deliberateness. They walked in awkward silence for some time. Kali was loath to break it and risk forgiving him for his abandonment, while Gojyo casted about in his mind for something to say to make things right. He never had been very good at mending something like this with words and not physical action. Unfortunately for him, Kali made the latter damn near impossible.

"What's going on?" Gojyo finally asked, at the same time that Kali said, "Damn it, Gojyo, how could you do that to me?!"

He blinked his crimson eyes in confusion with no idea what she was talking about. Gojyo waited for her to elaborate, but she did not seem as if she had any intentions on expounding on her outburst. She seemed merely to ignore his question and to return to brooding silence. "What did I do?" he asked. Even to his own ears, he sounded clueless and rather idiotic.

Kali scoffed and said, "If I have to explain it to you, then you don't need to know." In her humble opinion, it was self-explanatory.

He cast about in his thoughts trying to find what he could have done to offend her. He found nothing. He hadn't even been in town the past few weeks, so how could he have hurt her feelings? Slowly, comprehension dawned. Oh…

"Is it because I haven't been around?" Gojyo asked softly, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Well done," Kali congratulated, her voice dripping sarcasm. She even went as far as to clap for him. "It looks like you're not as stupid as I thought you were."

Gojyo stopped to glare at the back of her head, his own temper being stoked. "Damn you, if you'd just let me explain you'd know why I haven't been to see you at the restaurant! So just shut up and let me explain already!"

Kali considered continuing the walk without him, or even turning back to go home and to leave him standing in the cool night air. But she wanted to know. She deserved to know why he had been avoiding her. "I'm listening."

Gojyo bristled at the tone that the raven-haired woman took. She didn't even turn back to look at him. He would have turned around and returned back home to Hakkai, but for some reason it was important to him that he earned her forgiveness. He couldn't stand it when a woman was so upset with him. "I've been out of town with Hakkai," he began tensely, mentally rebelling at the thought that he might owe Kali an explanation on where he had been and why. One would have thought that he would be a little more used to it than he was, living with Hakkai and all. However, Hakkai never expected to be told anything about his comings and goings. This was a painful, new experience for him. "Me and Hakkai sometimes help Sanzo out at the temple, especially if something goes missing. We were sent to track down a missing statue of the Buddha. Turns out it was a little harder to find than we thought it would be." Images of the demon group that had decided to pick on Sanzo, and the battle that had ensued, flashed through his mind. Unfortunately, they had all gotten somewhat of a name during their journey west, a name that they had been unable to shake and that those demons around the area wanted to test themselves against.

Kali listened to Gojyo's words in still silence. So he hadn't abandoned her, then. He wasn't like her ex-boyfriend at all. Still… "And you couldn't have told me that you were leaving?" she asked when he was finished, her voice holding the accusation.

Gojyo mentally winced, realizing the mistake that he had made, and fished around in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. Once the slender stick was lit and he had taken a deep drag, he said, "I guess I should have, huh?" It was a rhetorical question. It was obvious from the hurt tone of her voice that she thought he had abandoned her to deal with the emotional pain on her own, like her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, Hayato, had done.

"You think?" Kali asked. To her horror, tears began to well up behind her eyelids, her words coming out more weak and close to tears than harsh.

The water sprite correctly interpreted the tone that she had taken and stood rooted to the spot in dismay. If there was one thing that he could not stand, it was a crying woman. "Shit," he muttered, and finally found his feet enough to move toward Kali, placing the cigarette safely between his first and middle fingers.

The scent of tobacco and nicotine enveloped her as the male wrapped his arms around her from behind, offering as much comfort as she was willing to take from him. She turned in his arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck, fighting the tears that were threatening to come as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Damn it, Gojyo, I hate you," Kali said without any real conviction. "Don't you ever do that to me again."

"I won't," he promised. If it helped Kali to feel better knowing that he had not left town forever, that he planned to be back eventually, it was a small price to pay to sacrifice a little of his freedom.


End file.
